These Grilled Beer Can Cornish Hens are so flavorful and juicy! They smell and taste incredible. Just apply a sweet and savory dry rub all over the hens, prop them up on open cans of beer, and let them grill.
This recipe is moderately low-carb, but not necessarily by Keto extreme low-carb guidelines.
The game hens can also be roasted in the oven if the weather doesn’t cooperate for outdoor grilling.
They are easy to prepare and make a fun lunch, dinner, or date night meal for two. A whole Cornish game hen is enough for one generous serving. Or you can split the hen in half for two servings.
We served ours with these Baked Potatoes and a nice side salad.
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How to make Grilled Beer Can Cornish Hens
Preheat a grill to medium heat for indirect grilling.
Rinse the Cornish game hens and pat dry with a paper towel.
In a bowl, combine the Adobo seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, black pepper, poultry seasoning, and brown sugar.
Pour half of the beer out of each can into a glass. Drink it up if you want.
Sprinkle a little bit of the seasoning into each of the half cans of beer.
Rub the remaining spice mixture all over the two hens.
Place the hens over the 1/2 full can of beer.
Slide the beer cans into beer can holders on a baking sheet. Click for beer can holders.
Fold the wings behind the hens to keep the tips from burning.
Place the baking sheet, with the hens on it, inside of the grill and close the lid.
Grill Cornish hens using indirect medium heat for about 45 minutes. The safe internal temperature for cooked chicken is 165 degrees F. A meat or instant-read thermometer is your best bet for determining the temperature of your chicken, and if you’re cooking a whole bird, it should be inserted into the thickest part of the thigh but not touching the bone.
Let set for at least 5 minutes before carefully removing the hens from beer can with tongs and an oven mitt.
To bake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and bake for about 45 minutes or until done.
You may also enjoy
- Roasted Cornish Hen with Vegetables
- Slow Cooker Cornish Game Hens and Veggies
- Grilled Steak Kabobs
- Grilled Flatbread Pizza
Grilled Beer Can Cornish Hens
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 Cornish game hens (thawed)
- 2 cans beer
For the rub:
- 1 Tablespoon Adobo seasoning with cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
Instructions
- Preheat a grill to medium heat for indirect grilling.
- Rinse the Cornish hens and pat dry with paper towel.
- In a bowl, combine the Adobo seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, black pepper, poultry seasoning, and brown sugar.
- Pour half of the beer out of each can into a glass. Drink it up if you want.
- Sprinkle a little bit of the seasoning into each of the half cans of beer.
- Rub the remaining spice mixture all over the two hens.
- Place the hens over the 1/2 full cans of beer.
- Slide the beer cans into beer can holders on a baking sheet. Click for beer can holders.
- Fold the wings behind the hens to keep the tips from burning.
- Place the baking sheet, with the hens on it, inside of the grill and close the lid.
- Grill using indirect medium heat for about 45 minutes. The safe internal temperature for cooked chicken is 165° Fahrenheit (75° Celsius). A meat or instant-read thermometer is your best bet for determining the temperature of your chicken, and if you’re cooking a whole bird, it should be inserted into the thickest part of the thigh but not touching bone.
- Let set for at least 5 minutes before carefully removing the hens from beer can with tongs and an oven mitt.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Hi and welcome. I’m Zona and I have a passion for recipes. I share recipes, tips, tricks, and resources to help you cook for two. Eat, drink, and enjoy!
BARRY
Sunday 10th of September 2023
Love your recipes, i bbq a lot of them but not with THAT beer!
bill
Tuesday 13th of November 2018
What size (weight) are the cornish hens? The ones I see in the store are small and I'm not sure a beer can would even fit in the bird's cavity.
Zona
Wednesday 14th of November 2018
Hi Bill, the hens are around 52 oz for a twin pack or about 3.25 lbs total for the 2 birds, should be the same small ones you are seeing in your store. I use regular 12 oz beer cans and they are a tight fit but they do fit. Some beer can be found in tall skinnier cans if you can find them. Either way, I definitely recommend using the beer can holder to help prevent the hens from tipping over during cooking.